Washing-machine tub



Oct. 1, 1929- J. L. PERKINS ET AL WASHING MACHINE TUB Filed Sept. 20, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet INVENTORS ATTORNEY.

Oct. 1, 1929- J. 1.. PERKINS ET AL.

WASHING MACHINE TUB Filed Sept. 20. 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORJ BY W J M Wa'am,

ATTORNEY.

Patented Uct. l, 1929 barren nane JULIAN L. PERKINS, OF WEST SPRINGFIELD, AND HIRAM ID/CBGFT, 0F SPRINGFIELD,

IVIASSACZ-IUSETTS, ASSIGNORS T0 PERKINS MACHINE AND GEAR COM'PANY, OF

VTEST SERINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATEOII OF IIEASSAGHUSETTS lVASHINGr-MACEINE TUB Application filed September 20, 1928. Serial No.307,257.

Our invention relates to improvements in tubs for washing macnines, which tubs are provided with interior vanes, aartitions, this, or the like.

Heretofore washing machines, of the oscillatory tub type, have been supplied with receptacles equipped with various kinds of paddles, fins, etc., although none like the present construction, and such paddles, fins, and the like have been permanently aflixed or attached to the receptacles, in consequence of which it was practically impossible thoroughly to wash and clean such receptacles, including the fixed members therein. In time, therefore, such areceptacle and its interior, immovable members become very unclean and unsanitary, and undergo deterioration due to the action thereon of, the chemicals precipitated or deposited and left at the end of almost any washing operation. A very important object of our invention is, therefore, to provide a washing machine tub and an insertable and removable unit therefor, or as an element, although not a permanent or rather fixed element, thereof. This unit can be removed and replaced at will. possible and entirely feasible thoroughly and completely to wash anu cleanse said'unit and the entire interior of the tub or receptacle, when the unit is out of the receptacle.

Another object is to produce a washingmachine tub which is capable of removing to the best advantage the dirt from the clothes therein. It is well understood that the rapid and variable agitation and tumbling about of clothes in the oscillatory tub of a washing machine, which tub has its direction of movement changed frequently and abruptly, whereby said clothes are more or less violently or forcibly thrown about, or tumbled over and over, and are subjected to different kinds of elemental action while being washed, produce the best results in the shortest time, and such results are produced or attained with our tub, because the same has been designed and constructed with these ends in view.

This tub or receptacle is provided with a vane or paddle wall which extends inwardly from the side of said tub parallel with a diam- Hence it is I eter thereof, or tangential to a circle having the axis of the tub as a center, and said receptacle is further provided with curved or arched top members springing from said paddle wall and extending therefrom in opposite directions and over to the receptacle wall, whereby the receptacle has therein two covered compartments or chambers in the tops of which are what may be termed air pockets. By these means the diversification of the flow of the water in the receptacle is promoted to a greater degree than ordinarily, the tumbling about of the clothes is increased to a marked extent, and quick and thorough cleansing of the clothes is insured.

Air is confined and compressed inthe air pockets at the tops of the chambers in the receptacle, when the clothes are dashed upwardly on and by the paddle wall, and said air expands, when the clothes recede, and sets on the water in a manner to accelerate the movement thereof. The water influenced by the expanding air returns quickly to the main body of water in the receptacle where its utilization is most effective, instead of being split up and dashed about abovethe clothes.

A further object is to provide means for locking, securing, or holding the insertable and removable unit in place in the receptacle, and permitting said unit to be removed from said receptacle.

Other objects andadvantages will appear in the course of the following description.

WVe attain the objects and secure the advantages of our invention by the means illus trated in the accompanying drawings, in whichp Figure 1 is a top plan of a tub which embodies a practical form of our invention, with portions broken away and in section; Fig. 2, a vertical section through the tub, taken on'lines 22, looking in the direction of the associated arrow, in Fig. 1; 8, an enlarged, sectional detail; 4;, a top plan of a tub embodying a modification of said. invention, with portion broken away and in section; Fig. 5, an interior elevation of a fragmentary portion of said last-named tub,- such portion being assumed to be removed from the tub on lines 55, and viewed as dicated by the associated arrow, in Fig. 4; Fig. 6, a vertical section through said lastnamed tub, taken on'lines 66, looking in the direction of the associated arrow, in Fig. 4, with a portion of the bottom part of the paddle wall broken out; Fig. 7, an enlarged,

sectional detail of a portion of the second tub, and, Fig. 8, an enlarged, sectional detail of another portion. of said second tub.

Similar reference characters designate similar parts throughout the several views.

In each view a receptacle as a whole, which is designed to be operatively connected with the oscillatory mechanism of a washing ma chine, is represented at 1, and said receptacle consists in part of a bottom or floor 3, and has upper and under, interior beads 4, the under bead assisting to support said floor from above. An insertable and removable unit is provided for each receptacle 1, and is an important and essential element of the new tub in its entirety. I

WVe will first describe in detail the tub illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. I

On the floor 3 is a rib 7 which extends from the wall of the receptacle 1 inwardly, is slightly curved on the same side at both ends, and has a loop 8 at the inner end. On the wall of the receptacle -1, some distance below the upper bead 4, are two lugs 9 each having an upwardly extending projection 10. Also on the wall of the receptacle, just under the upper bead 4, is a lug 11 having on the inner side a lip 12. The rib 7 and the lugs 9 and 11 are all located on the same side of a diameter of the receptacle. The lug 11 is more nearly adjacent to one of the lugs 9, the lefthand lug as the tub is disposed in the drawings, than to the other lug 9.

A vertical fin, vane, or paddle wall 13 is curved at the outer end, as represented at 14, to conform to the curve at the outer end of the rib 7, and this curved part at the top is continued to form an extension 15 which conforms with the receptacle wall on the inside. The paddle wall 13 also has at the outer end on the other side, with its bottom edge in the same horizontal plane with the bottom edge of the extension 15, an extension 16 which, like the other extension, conforms with the receptacle wall on the inside. The bottom edge portion of the paddle wall at the inner end is receivable in the loop 8. Recesses are provided in the bottom edges of the extensions 15 and 16 to receive the proj ections 10. r

Spanning the space between the paddle wall 13 and the extension 15 is an upwardly curved or arched roof or dome l7. Spanning the space between the paddle wall 13 and the extension 16, with a valley 18 between, are upwardly curved or arched roofs or domes 19 and 20, the former extending from said valley to meet the dome 17 above the paddle wall 13, and over to the receptacle of said domes 17 and 20 and the inner edge of the paddle wall 1.3 are all in the same vertical plane, which plane is somewhat remote from a parallel diametral of the receptacle. The valley 18 is approximately radial to the center of the receptacle, and at the front or inner end is over the corresponding end of the paddle wall 13.

The paddle wall 13 extends, from the curved parts at adjacent edges of the extensions l5 and 16, inwardly in tan ential relationship to a circle which is concentric with the receptacle, or parallel with a diameter of said receptacle, except that the forward or inner-edge portion of said wall, which edge portion curves forwardly or inwardly toward the axis of tee receptacle, and the rib 7 is in general correspondence with said wall.

The extensions 15 and 16 brace the paddle Wall 13 and, assist said wall in supporting the domes.

When the unit is in place in the receptacle 1, the bottom-edge portion of the paddle wall 1.3 sets on the floor 3 back of the rib 7 and in the loop 8, and the bottom edges of the extensions 15 and 16 are received on the lugs 9 with the projections 10 in the recesses in said extensions. Thus it is seen that the lugs 9 take the weight of the paddle wall 13, with that of the extensions 15 and 16 and the domes '17, 19, and 20, off of the floor 3.

A cam latch 21 is mounted on the dome 20 and pivotally connected therewith at 22 in position to be swung into and out of engagement with the lip 12, when the unit is in place. When the latch 21 is swung on the pivot 22 in the direction to engage the lip 12, the dome 20 is thereby directly forced down hard against the lug 9 below, and the dome 17 indirectly forced down hard against the other lug 9, and at the same time the unit is forced into tight engagement with the rib 7 Upon in said receptacle, the free edge of t 1e curved,

outer part 14 of the paddle wall 13 is cut away, as shown at 23, in Fig. 3, to clear the lower bead 4.

It is now clear that this unit can be placed in the receptacle 1 on the floor 3 and locked by means of the lock 21, when said unit is held securely and tightly in place by means of the rib 7 with its loop 8, the lugs 9 with their projections 10, the lip 12, said latch, and that said unit can be unlocked or unlatched and removed from said receptacle, all with the utmost facility.

When the unit is in the receptacle 1, the receptacle wall, the paddle Wall 13, and the dome 17 form one chamber, and said walls and the domes 19 and 20 form another chamber, into and out of which the clothes are carried by the oscillatory movement of said receptacle.

The domes 17, 19, and 20 form air pockets, and as the clothes in the oscillatory receptacle 1 are carried by the turbulent water into the aforesaid chambers, the air is compressed more or less above said clothes in the chambers, the water is forced through said clothes, the latter are subjected to a certain amount of sucking action, and the compressed air expands and increases the agitation of the water, and tumbles the clothes about. Obviously, as the water in the receptacle and the clothes therein are dashed upwardly against the paddle wall 13 into the spaces directly under the domes, the air in said spaces must be compressed, and this compressed air expands as soon as the clothes drop or move away from said domes, and acts on the water in a manner to promote circulation of the same, and more quickly precipitate it into the mass below, thereby promoting the cleansing process. It will now be understood that, when the receptacle 1 contains the proper amount of water and quantity of clothes to be washed and is in operation, said clothes are subjected to divers kinds of actions and movements during the washing operation, which produce most etlicient results.

In practice, assuming that the insertable and removable unit is in place in the receptacle 1, and that said receptacle is oscillated, each time the latter is partially rotated to the right, the impact between the paddle wall 13 and the clothes in the path thereof causes said clothes to be turned, air is compressed under the dome 17 and a certain amount of suction is created or produced on the clothes behind said wall and from which clothes said wall is receding, and the air beneath the domes 19 and 20, released by the falling and moving away therefrom of the clothes, acts on the water below and causes the same to flow down more freely on the acute-angle side of said wall and in the larger chamber, thus further increasing and diverting the movement of the water; and each time the receptacle is partially rotated to the left, the impact between the paddle wall and the clothes in the path thereof forces them into the space between said wall and the receptacle wall, and upwardly beneath said domes 19 and 20, and

tends to squeeze the same, and the compressed air under the dome 17 is released to do its work. As the tub continues to oscillate and the aforesaid actions on the clothes are re peated, more and more of the dirt is washed out, until in a comparatively short time said clothes are rendered clean. At the end of the washing operation the clothes are removed from the receptacle.

The insertable and removable unit is next lifted out of the receptacle and thoroughly washed and cleansed, as also is the now empty receptacle. receptacle 1 is washed and dried, and the paddle wall 13, with the extensions 15 and 16, and the domes 17 19, and 20, is washed and dried, said wall and parts are replaced in said receptacle. The washing of the receptacle and unit is very easy to accomplish because of their constructions as described above.

The principal difference between the tub first described and that illustrated in the last five views is found in the means for securing the insertable and removable unit in place in the receptacle, and we will now describe this modified or second tub.

Rigidly attached to the inside of the receptacle 1 shown in Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 8, to the wall thereof is a vertical rib or flange 24:, and rigidly attached to said Wall at a point opposite to said flange is a second rib or flange 25. A third rib or flange 26 is rigidly attached to the wall of the receptacle between the tlanges 2a and25, but nearer the former than the latter. The flange 24 extends from the floor 3 upwardly for about two'thirds of the height of the receptacle, while each of the flanges 25 and 26 is com,- paratively short. The flanges 24 and 25 are in a vertical plane that is somewhat removed from a diameter of the receptacle 1 which is parallel with said plane, but the shorter flange inclines from above downwardly and inwardly into the space defined by the receptacle wall and said plane, and is located with its upper end a little above the horizontal plane of the upper end of the longer flange. The short flange 26 extends upwardly from the floor 3, and has an inclination generally corresponding with that of the flange 25. I

Here the paddle Wall 13 has at the outer end on one side a curved extension 27 which conforms to thereceptacle wall on the inside, and at the said outer end on the other sioe a curved extension 28'which also conforms to the receptacle. wall on the inside, and is comparatively narrow except at and near the top where the same-is continued in the form ofa curved arm 29. The arm 29 conforms to the inside of the receptacle wall, and at the free end is provided with a flange 30 inclined and adapted to be received and fit behind the flange 25. At the free end or vertical edge of the extension 27 is a vertical rib or flange After the interior of the" 28, together with the bottom ends of the flanges 31 and 32, are adapted to rest on the floor 3. The inclinations of the flanges and corr spond with each other, as also do the inclinations of the flanges 26 and 32.

The flange 24 at the lower terminal is cut away, as represented at 33 in Fig. 8, to enable said flange to clear the lower bead l, and the lower-terminal portion of the extension 27, together with the integral flange 31, also is cut away, as represented at 84; in Fig. 7, to clear said head.

Except as explained above in detail, the paddle wall and the unit as a whole in the second or modified example correspond witl the paddle wall and unit as a whole in the first example, and both function so far as the washing operation is concerned in practically the same manner. And similar domes are present, the extension 27 supporting the curved edge of the dome 17, and the extension 28 and arm 29 supporting the curved edges of the domes 19 and 20.

This unit is placed in the receptacle 1, with the flange 31 behind the flange 24, the flange 30 behind the flange 25, and the 32 in engagment with the flange 26, and unit is held securely and tightly in place on the floor 3 by the engaging flanges ant the wedging action of the inclined shorter flanges, although said unit can be disengaged and removed from said receptacle by forcibly raising the former and thereby withdrawing the movable flanges from engag ment with the immovable flanges.

In seating the unit in the receptacle, in the second example, said unit is inserted in said receptacle in a manner to cause the flange 31 to engagethe flange 2%, and the flanges 30 and 32 respectively to engage the flanges 25 and 26, and, as said unit descends and after the same clears the upper bead l, it is forced rearwardly or outwardly by the shorter, inclined flanges until in full and complete contact with the receptacle wall beneath said head. The flange 31 is behind the flange 2% from the beginning of the descent. in removing the unit. the same is first lifted to about the height or the bottom of the upper head 4:, when the flange 30 and 32 are in such positions relative to the flanges 25 and 26, respectively, that the unit can be swung forwardly or inwardly on the flange 2 l far enough to clear said bead, and is so swung, and then the unit is lifted entirely out of the receptacle.

Less than one-half of the area of the receptacle l, in either example, is covered by the domes of the unit, consequently there is ample space for introducing the clothes into said receptacle and removing them therefrom. I

More or less change in the shape, size, construction, and arrangement of some or all of the parts of this tub, in addition to those hereinbefore specifically pointed out, may be made, without departing from the spirit of our invention, or exceeding the scope of what is claimed.

We claim:

1. The combination, in a washing-machine tub, with a receptacle having a vertical axis, of a unit insertable in and removable from said receptacle, said unit comprising an approximately vertical paddle wall and lateral parts concentric with the receptacle wall and adapted to bear against the same.

2. The combination, in a washing-machine tub, of a receptacle. having a vertical axis, of a unit insertable in and removable from said receptacle, said unit comprisipg an approximately vertical paddle wall and lateral parts ccncentric with the receptacle wall and adapted to bear against the same, and means to hold said unit in place in said receptacle.

3. The con'ibination, in a washing-machine tub, or a receptacle having a vertical axis, and a unit msertable 1n and removable itrom d receptacle, said unit comprising an approximately vertical paddle wall and lateral parts concentric with the receptacle wall and adapted to bear against the same, the latter and said unit being provided with engaging and disengaging means to hold said unit in place in said receptacle, and release said uni a. The combination, in a washing-machine tub, of a. receptacle having a vertical axis, and a unit insertable in and removable from said receptacle, said unit comprising an approximately vertical paddle wall and lateral parts concentric with the receptacle wall and adapted to bear against the same, the latter and said unit being provided with latch members to hold said unit in place in said receptaole, and release said unit.

5. The combination, in a washing-machine tub, with a receptacle having a vertical axis, of. an insertable and removable unit comprising an approximately vertical paddle wall to project into said receptacle from the wall thereof, having oppositely directed extensions, at the outer terminal, concentric with and adapted to bear against said receptacle wall, and also having top members to cover the spaces between said paddle wall and said extensions.

6. The combination, in a washing-machine tub, with a receptacle, of an insertable and removable unit comprising a paddle wall to project into said receptacle from the wall thereof, having oppositely directed extensions at the outer terminal to bear against said receptacle wall, and also having top members which connect said wall with said extensions, and means to hold said wall and extensions in place in said receptacle.

7. The combination, in a washingmachine tub, with a receptacle the floor of which is provided with a rib, of an insertable and removable unit comprising a paddle wall to project into said receptacle from the wall thereof, and adapted at the bottom to engage and be held in place by said rib.

8. The combination, in a washing-machine tub, with a receptacle the floor of which is provided with a rib looped at the inner terminal, of an insertable and removable unit comprising a paddle wall to project into said receptacle from the wall thereof, and,

adapted at the bottom edge to engage and be held in place by said rib and the looped portion of said rib.

9. The combination, in a washing-machine tub, with a receptacle the floor of which is provided with a rib having a loop at the inner end, of an insertable and removable unit comprisin a paddle wall to project into said receptacle from the wall thereof, and adapted at the bottom to engage said rib and be received in said loop, and thus held in place.

10. The combination, in a washing-machine tub, with a receptacle having a vertical axis and provided on the inside of the wall thereof with a lug, of an insertable and removable unit comprising an approximately vertical paddle wall to project into said receptacle from the wall thereof, and having a lat-- eral extension concentric with and adapted to bear against said container wall and engage said lug. i

11. The combination, in a washing-machine tub, with a receptacle the floor of which is provided with a rib', and the wall of which is provided on the inside with a lag, of an insertable and removable unit comprising a paddle wall to project into said receptacle from the wall thereof, and adapted at the bottom to engage and be held in place by said rib, said paddle wall having an extension to bear against said container wall and rest on said lug.

12. The combination, in a washing-machine tub, with a receptacle the floor of which is provided with a rib, and the wall of which is provided on the inside with lugs, of an insertable and removable unit comprising a paddle wall to project into said receptacle from the wall thereof, and adapted at the bottom to engage and be held in place by said rib, said paddle wall having oppositely-directed extensions to bear against said receptacle wall and rest on said lugs, and top members attached to said paddle wall and said extensions.

13'. The combination, in a washing-machine tub with a receptacle having a vertical axis, the wall of which receptacle is provided with supporting means, of an insertable and removable unit comprising an approximately vertical paddle wall to project into said receptacle from the wall thereof, and having lateral arcuate extensions adapted to be supported by said supporting means and bear against said receptacle wall, and means to hold said extensions in engagement with said supporting means and release them therefrom.

14. The combination, in a washing-machine tub, with a receptacle the floor and wall of which are provided with supporting means, of an insertable and removable unit comprising a paddle wall to project into said receptacle from the receptacle wall, and adapted at the bottom to engage and be held in place by said floor supporting means, said paddle wall having extensions adapted to engage said wall-supporting means, top members attached to said paddle wall and said extensions, and engageable and releasable latch members attached to said receptacle wall and one of said top members, whereby the unit may be secured in place in the receptacle and released for the purpose of removal therefrom. v

15. In a washing-machine tub, an insertable and removable unit comprising a wall,

and arcuate extensions projecting from the top of said wall on opposite sides at the outer edge thereof, to afford supporting means for said wall.

16. In a washing-machine tub, an insertable and removable unit comprising a wall, extensions projecting from the top of said wall on opposite sides at the outer edge thereof, and domes connecting said wall and said extension.

17. In a washing-machine tub, an insertable and removable unit comprising a wall, extensions projecting from the top of said wall on opposite sides at the outer edge thereof, a dome connecting said wall and one of said extensions, and domes, separated by a valley, connecting said wall and the other of said extensions.

JULIAN PERKINS. I HTRAM D. CROFT. 

